Modern mapping systems have drastically changed the way we interact with the world. It is not that long ago that people used foldable maps to navigate from point A to point B. With the introduction and ubiquity of cellular networks, the Internet, and GPS technology, mapping paradigms have fundamentally changed our mode of interaction and engagement with the environment and learn about our surroundings quickly, effectively, and efficiently. Although maps have become more interactive, most of the interaction reflects physical objects such as streets, buildings, parks, and lakes. The focus of maps is on providing visual information about a location, particularly distilled to provide information about the physical objects. Furthermore, maps are still very much static—maps are not updated with much frequency as the physical objects on the map, such as buildings, parks and lakes in reality do not change much over long periods of time.
Humans, however, do not interact with the environment through visual feedback alone. Although the presence or absence of a physical object may important information, the mere presence of an object does not convey all of the information of interest. As a matter of fact, humans sense the world in at least a number of fundamental ways: through vision, hearing, touch, heat, and smell. Visual feedback technologies have advanced impressively with the development of technologies such as Google® maps and the like that focus on enhancing the presentation and “depth” of visual information. However, non-visual information is still underdeveloped and underrepresented in mapping.